Nicolás Massú off to a bitter start in Australia

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SANTIAGO.- Nicolás Massú (no. 69) seemed to be off to a good start this season. His arrival to the quarterfinals at the ATP tournament in Auckland gave him much hope for the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the year.

The draw however, was not kind to the Viña de Mar native, pairing him with American player James Blake (no.13). Despite having defeated Blake on two previous occasions, the American's sturdy approach got the best of Massú this time.

The number 13 player in the ATP ranking took the match with an impressive score of 6-3, 6-2 and 6-2, sending him through to the second round of the tournament.

Nicolás Massú will return to Chile this weekend to train for the Viña del Mar ATP tournament, where he will be defending 120 points in a face-off with Peruvian player Luis Horna in the final match.